Driven to Excel: Major Paul Ovalle By Robert Voris
or Major Paul Ovalle, the desire to be the best is personal. With more than the usual Marine drive to excel, Maj Ovalle has been inspired by individual leaders and mentors as he has ascended the ranks of the United States Marine Corps.
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It started when he was a teenager. His cousin Bruce, a Navy man, told stories of serving around the world. Bruce was “a man’s man” as Ovalle remembers, and the impression he made on young Ovalle was immediate and intense. Ovalle en- listed right out of high school, choosing the Marines rather than the Navy because he knew it would be the most challenging service branch.
During his initial tour, Ovalle saw his second example of what he would like to achieve. While stationed at the American Embassy in Mexico, he met a lot of State Department officials, and felt drawn to what they possessed. “I thought, ‘I want to be like these people - very well-edu- cated, very well-spoken, very enthusias- tic.’” He felt he needed to augment the training of the Marines with a formal education, and enrolled at the University of Houston, where he planned on joining the FBI upon graduation.
But even the best-laid plans take unex- pected turns. The local FBI office wanted Ovalle to work full-time as an intern while he was in the thick of his studies for a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. When a Marine Corps Officer Selection Officer talked to him on campus, Ovalle changed his plans and enrolled in a Ma- rine Officer commissioning program— this time becoming an officer. He completed Officer Candidates School in early 1999 and Flight School later that year. Though certified to fly attack helicopters, Ovalle had transferred to logistics by mid-2002, when he was deployed to Kuwait in the ramp-up for the Iraq War. He helped to set up airfields in preparation for the invasion, and describes it as his favorite unit; but again, the reason is personal as much as profes- sional. His commanding officer, LtCol Joseph K. Haviland, was “the best com- manding officer I’ve ever known. He bal-
anced so well the hard-work ethic with humor on the side.” Then-Captain Ovalle worked as hard as possible for Haviland, helping to build three temporary airfields in Kuwait and two more in Iraq after the US invasion. More recently, Ovalle served in Afghanistan as a planner. In Iraq he had been in charge of making sure air bases were operational. In Afghanistan he made sure the airfield operations were operational. Ten thousand Marines were going to be airlifted via helicopter into Kandahar Province, and Ovalle’s team had six months to figure out exactly how that was going to happen. “The com- manding officer provides guidance…he lets you know what his end state looks like and then you figure out how to get him there,” Ovalle said of the plans. “It’s very methodical, very logical. It’s not a lockstep process, it’s very flexible. You can use it in your day-to-day life.” Ovalle’s day-to-day life has changed quite a bit recently. His current assign-
ment is with The Basic School as the Warfighting Command section head, where he mentors captains with the values and knowledge he has gained over the years. He lectures on ethics, proctors tests and takes part in camaraderie-build- ing activities such as Mess Night, which is a formal affair attended in the dress- blue uniform with a guest-of-honor. It’s a far cry from places like Helmand Province, where the literacy rate tops out at eight percent and the guest of honor most nights is a village elder, but Ovalle enjoys it. “It’s really hard to express in words how much I’ve learned both per- sonally and professionally,” he said. Now that he’s been in the Marines for a quarter-century, Ovalle and his wife, Theresa, who is a planner with the State Department and retired Marine, are look- ing forward to meeting the challenges of civilian life. Ovalle hasn’t yet retired and wouldn’t share what he might do once he’s out of the military, but rest assured he has a plan.
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